Mordellidae

Common name:

Tumbling flower beetles

Number of species:

17

Size Range:

2-9mm

Tarsi:

5-5-4.

Images:

Description:

The 2012 checklist gives 17 British species of Mordellidae, but this is a taxonomically-confused group, with several recent descriptions and synonomisations from the British fauna. As a group they are distinctive: oval-elongate, pubescent brown or black beetles, 2-9mm long, with an extended, elongate pygidium reminiscent of a sting. Adults are characteristically found curled in a c-shape on flowers, where they feed on pollen. When disturbed, their general escape mechanism is to skip about and tumble from the flowers, hence their vernacular name.